How is Ontario’s affordability situation affecting its young talent?

Nearly half (46%) of prospective home buyers younger than 45 years old have considered, or are considering, moving out of Ontario due to the province’s affordability situation, according to the Ontario Real Estate Association.

In its latest consumer poll, the OREA found that a significant chunk of Ontario’s consumer base now believe that prospects for home ownership in the province are dim without more concrete government action.

Of those under the age of 29, approximately 33% are contemplating buying homes outside of Ontario. Over half of aspiring buyers (56%) are pessimistic about the possibility of buying a home in the community they want to live in.

The trend is alarming considering that young professionals play a major role in the province’s economic competitiveness, OREA warned.

“The lack of housing supply is leading many to look outside the province for their first homes and that will make it difficult to retain and attract talent in Ontario in the near future,” said Tim Hudak, CEO of OREA. “The Government of Ontario’s More Homes, More Choice Act is an excellent first step but if we want to reverse this brain drain, municipalities also need to deliver by opening up more housing opportunities.”

Read more: RBC Economics on the state of Canada’s housing affordability

For most Ontarians, housing should be a very high (31%) or a high (36%) priority for the provincial government. Policy suggestions that garnered the most positive responses in the OREA poll were the following:

• Stamping out money laundering in real estate with the implementation of a public registry of property ownership (91%)
• Introducing home improvement and energy efficiency tax credits or incentives (90%)
• Increasing first-time buyer tax rebates to make getting into home ownership easier (89%)
• Redeveloping surplus commercial properties into housing (87%)

“The affordability crisis continues to crush the dream of home ownership for many Ontarians and this has been intensified by the economic impact of the pandemic,” Hudak said. “Governments need to act if we want to create future generations of homeowners and that starts with pro-growth policies that could bring affordability closer to first-time home buyers and address the supply shortage.”